4.10.2013

Here's another discovery, but not so new. Indeed, Billy Marlowe is one of those forgotten artists of the music history. Actually he never had the opportunity to become famous because his career had quickly ended.

The story began in June 1983. Steve Satterwhite just opened his record studio in East Village, NYC. That was the moment Billy Marlowe chose to record some of his songs. Together, they made a really well produced demo. But it wasn't enough to convince any label and the few LPs and cassettes finished on a shelf.

Fortunately, NewTex Records has released 28 years later a CD version of this record."Show Me The Steps" is the unique musical will of Billy Marlowe because he disappeared as quick as he came. Nevertheless this record is really amazing and must be listened.

We are here in a Folk spirit, post-hippy style, of the 1980's. We easily forgot that the record is a beginning try-out album. It's really impressive on orchestrations. It reminds me some kind of movie soundtracks, everything is powerful and really deep. The piano/bass duo works well to create a melancholic mood.

On the lyrics side, we got a strong poetic touch. In the folk tradition the album content is about sincerity and personal view of the world. the Billy's tone is sometimes close to Bob Dylan, but in a good way.

This record won't be just another Folk CD. It catches you from the first note and guides you throughout the ten songs. It's hard to describe the well-being we feel while we listen to Billy Marlowe. We just can regret he's not still alive to offer us more beautiful songs.

2.28.2013

It's hard to know where to start. Not because I've got a little tiny bunch of records to talk about but because there's a lot to talk about. So I decided to present you one of my recent discoveries. Ladies & Gentlemen, here is Rich Mahan !

This guy has just released his first record called "Blame Bobby Bare" in the beginning of this year. It's a country/rock'n'roll style CD full of good songs. Produced by Brian Harrison with a lot of talented musicians at his side, like the famous harmonica player P. T. Gazell or the pedal-steel player Roby Turner. Those guys know how to make a good song to sound amazingly. Just listen to "Rehab's For Quitters" or the way harmonica lines sound on "The Hills Of South Dakota" to understand how they emboss the harmonies.

There's a kind of 70's spirit in this music and it's not so surprising to find Bekka Brammett (former member of Fleetwood Mac) singing in this album on a very bluesy "Favorite Shirt". We could talk about a neo-vintage style.

Thus, as you may figured out with the record title, this work is a wink to Bobby Bare (a famous country singer who started his successful career in the 60s) and the way he shaped the Rich's vision of country music. Indeed, his father was a huge fan of this country singer, listening him a lot at the family home. Rich Mahan couldn't avoid to deeply meet that music. But as I said early, there's also a lot of Rock'n'Roll in the tracklist, starting with the first song "Math".

If classic country still to be a reference, that's a modern work we got here. It's deeply anchored in its own time, never going on the cliché side. First and well done record for Rich Mahan. We just can hope to see others to come.